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After the rain…

Two weeks ago our outreach venue in Beenleigh went under water. The local train station where the Rosies community meet was completely flooded. Patrons and volunteers alike suffered from the weather conditions but remained in good spirits.

The Beenleigh Rosies teams went back on the street as soon as they possibly could. As a matter of fact our wonderful volunteers were outreaching again as soon as last Thursday.

Few of our regular patrons attended the outreach.  Many were unsure we would be back so quickly after the deluge. On Saturday our friends on the street came in large numbers to share a cup of coffee and a bun. Some asked for blankets as the temperatures have cooled down significantly since the floods. Others were looking for toiletries.  Passerbys stopped and joined us and mingled with the crowd. A beautiful community!

The local community has been very supportive. A lovely couple baked some beautiful cupcakes to be handed out at our Thursday outreach. People  going through tough times appreciate the support they receive from the Rosies family. Some want to show their appreciation by bringing a little bit of sunshine to our outreaches whether it is a smile, a ‘thank you for being here’, or lovely cupcakes.

Thank you Beenleigh for showing such resilience and great love. Happy Easter!

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Toowoomba Volunteers Participate in their First Fundraiser

In early April, Toowoomba volunteers were offered the opportunity to participate in a fundraising BBQ at the Harvey Norman Centre with the proceeds to be used for the ongoing work of Rosies outreaches. Our Rosies marquee added a carnival atmosphere to the special Car Park Sale which was held at the Harvey Norman Shopping Complex.
On thatbeautiful Autumn day, volunteers enjoyed the experience taking time between cooking and serving the public, to meet and socialise with other volunteers from the various teams. With other major events scheduled for the same day, the opening of the new Grand Central Shopping Complex and the Toowoomba Show, volunteers hard work was rewarded with the total of $740 raised for the work of Rosies. Special thanks to everyone who assisted with the organisation and to those who generously volunteered their time to provide the hot food throughout the day. We have booked another day for early October and look forward to meeting up again and enjoying the day together.
Well done and thank you!

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Rosies featured in the Cairns Diocesan News

rosies-friends on the street Cairns branch

L-R Mitch Fitzpatrick, Rick Hauraki, Theresa Redgwell, Christine Alifraco, Three first year dental students, Bri Blackmore, Bill Matthews, Lyall Forde

Rosies Cairns branch features in this year CAIRNS DIOCESAN NEWS EASTER edition (you can read the article below). This year Rosies celebrates its 30th birthday.

Rosies was founded by an Oblate of Mary Immaculate priest (OMI) in the beachside suburb of Melbourne called Rosebud, hence the name Rosies. Throughout  Queensland, we operate in many suburbs and towns, including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, and Mareeba.

Our work is to be friends with those forced to live on the street, the homeless and poor. Here in Cairns we take hot meals and drinks out to them four nights a week. We have 160 volunteers who done night per month in 16 Teams. The volunteers come from all walks of life and this contributes to the Rosies family.

We also have nine high schools that participate as part of our School Engagement Program, these being Cairns State High School, St . Andrew’s Catholic College, Redlynch State College, St Monica’s College, Peace Lutheran College, TAS, St Augustine’s College, AFL Cape York Academy, and St Mary’s Catholic College. These Outreach schools are involved once per month and consist of four Grade 12 students plus a teacher and parents.

Along with our face-to-face outreach volunteers, we have a small army of “back room” supporters who cook hot meals for the volunteers to distribute. We also have a large group who make up sandwiches to cover the four  nights. It is also worth pointing out that for the last few years the Cairns Muslim Community has cooked 90 hot meals per month. Then in the wider community, we have many parish and community members who collect food for us and fundraise to assist our financial commitments.

All our volunteers are required to have a Blue Card and undertake the in-service (Initial Training Course) which is an introduction to our Rosies work in Cairns . The Rosies outreach room is located on the ground floor of Centacare and we are grateful to the Diocese of Cairns for making this available.

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